LeConte Divide

LeConte Divide is a series of peaks located in the John Muir Wilderness. This portion of the Sierra Nevada does not get as much attention as some other more popular areas which makes it ideal back-country to get away from the general backpacking scene and into real quality wilderness. The trip we took started out of Courtright Reservoir where we worked out way through the John Muir Wilderness, summiting the divide at Hell For Sure Pass. We originally slated this trip for 6 days, but due to extremely smoky conditions from a fire south-west of us, we hiked out on the 4th day.

Trailhead at Courtright Reservoir

Our small group at the trailhead at Courtright Reservoir

Chris and Ivonne on the meadow bridge near the trailhead

Mike and Josh on the meadow bridge near the trailhead

Getting to the trail head at Courtright Reservoir was a little adventure in itself. At one point you have to cross the dam where it drops to a single lane and there is no easy way to see oncoming traffic. You just kind of have to go for it and hope nobody comes across at the same time you do.

Hobler Lake

We made Hobler Lake our first stop. It’s about a mile off the main trail but a good spot to setup camp on the first night. At this location, campfires are allowed and there is plenty of water. Unfortunately due to the smoke at a fire south-west of our location, the Sierras in the background don’t show up in the picture. From here we headed towards Fleming lake through Post Corral Meadow. Along the trail there were fields of gooseberries that while they looked delicious, they also looked like a pain in the ass to gather.

Gooseberries!

Post Corral Camp

Post Corral Meadow

Above Fleming Lake

Fleming lake is a very shallow lake not really worth writing about. There was no legal place to camp there, so we went about 1/2 mile above it where we could have a campfire.

Fork from Post Corral to Red Mountain Basin

Fork to Hell For Sure Pass!

Fleming Creek, feeds into Fleming Lake

Playing with the fish

Looking at the divide across Fleming Creek

Looking at the divide at twilight

Disappointment Lake

There was nothing disappointing about Disappointment Lake, it was awesome. As we hiked out of Fleming Lake, we broke through the trees and into the Red Mountain Basin and the view of LeConte Divide was amazing.

LeConte Divide from Red Mountain Basin

Heading up to Disappointment Lake

Approaching Disappointment Lake

Disappointment Lake through the trees

It’s a short climb from Fleming Lake, through the basin into Disappointment Lake, from here we dropped our gear and day hiked Hell For Sure pass. We didn’t plan on descending to the other side, so no point in taking extra gear. The trail was broken and headed up a small spring that was very green and some pretty bright red flowers. Towards the top it got pretty breezy as most passes tend to be. The view on the backside towards the east showed the sheer ruggedness and expansiveness of the Sierra Nevada.

Disappointment Lake

Looking down over our trail from Hell For Sure Lake

Ms Ivonne reaches the top first

Looking south-east over the Sierra Nevada

The group …

Looking back over Hell For Sure Lake, you can see the smoke in the air blowing in

We huddled up against the rocks to eat lunch, if you look close you can see us

From this point, we stayed the night at Disappointment lake, and headed out the next day. The smoke blew in so bad that night that our eyes and throats burned. The ash was so bad that our flashlights looked like light sabers. Despite the smoke, the weather was fantastic and the mosquitoes were minimal.